A 19-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to a series of drive-by pellet gun shootings in Hillcrest earlier this month. In other news, the city of Del Mar recently passed a set of rules regulating short-term rentals and capping their numbers, but the ordinance still needs the state’s approval. Plus, KPBS just launched a new project called Public Matters, where our newsroom explores how we engage over politics, how government impacts our lives and threats to democracy.